You're Nobody 'till Somebody Loves You
by snapealina
Summary: Ron feels depressed and lonely, and Severus Snape isn't exactly having his best week either... Not slash. Edited and reposted! Reviews make me very very very happy :D
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to JK Rowling, lucky lady...

A/N: Reviews make me very very very happy ;)

Enjoy!

**You're nobody 'till somebody loves you**

**Chapter 1**

It was the story of Ron Weasley's life. Nobody cared about _him_. Being the youngest boy in a family with seven children, always made him feel, not even second best, but seventh…

Nothing he did was ever good enough; because one of his brothers had always done it before him… He also knew that his parents really wanted a girl, and that they were a bit disappointed when Ron turned out to be a boy. So of course Ginny came to be his parent's favourite, and everything she did was so bloody amazing.

Now, things were getting worse. It wasn't enough that he was the family failure, but now school was going in the same direction. Everybody seemed to do great at school, and everybody had someone special in their life. Everybody but Ron...

Harry and Ginny had hooked up just three weeks ago, and never left each other's sides. Hermione and Dean had been going out for months; heck, even Neville had hooked up with Luna. But nobody wanted Ron. The thing with Lavender had just been a joke from her and Parvati's side. They were now going out with each other.

Ron had always liked coming to school. He, Harry and Hermione had always done everything together, but now, they didn't give him the time of day. They were too busy snogging their lovers, holding hands and doing whatever they did when he wasn't looking.

He was sitting in the Defence Against the Dark Arts-classroom, letting his mind drift away and felt sorry for himself.

"It's never me…" he muttered to himself.

"What was that, Mr. Weasley?" A cold voice cut through his thoughts, and he looked up into Snape's furious face.

"What was so important that you had to interrupt me?"

"Nothing, sir," Ron looked down at his desk.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Weasley. And detention with me tonight at eight o'clock!" Snape walked back to the front of the class.

"Great," thought Ron. "Detention with Snape would be the perfect ending to a perfect day."

The rest of the day went as it had for the last couple of weeks. He sat alone at mealtimes, tried to do his homework all by himself. It was not easy, because he had always relied on Hermione to, at least, look over his homework. But now he was all alone doing them, and he wasn't doing too well.

Ron went to Snape's office at eight o'clock. He walked in with an indifferent expression on his face. He didn't care what Snape made him do. He didn't care about anything or anyone. All he wanted to do right now was to be left alone, sulking.

Snape, however, had other plans. He wasn't planning on leaving Ron alone. The minute the redheaded Weasley-boy walked into his office, he was in up his face. He was tired of pupils not paying attention in class.

Didn't they know how important defence against the dark arts was? Didn't they know what was coming? Didn't they want to learn how to protect themselves? And the Weasley-boy was one of the worst. He always seemed to lean to his friends to everything. He had never seen the boy act out of own free will. It was obviously Potter and Granger that told him what to do in every situation. It was time that he stood up for himself and showed what he was made of.

"Well, Mr. Weasley," Snape sneered. "It seems as you know everything there is to know about defence against the dark arts."

Ron looked confused. "No, sir." His voice trembled.

"Is that so? Then why aren't you paying attention in class, Mr. Weasley?"

"I'm sorry, sir," said Ron, looking down.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Snape said angrily. "Why aren't you practicing defensive spells and doing your homework properly?"

"I am, sir," Ron looked at his professor utterly terrified.

"Oh, you are, are you?" Snape sneered. "Then, Mr. Weasley, you will have no problem showing me how to produce a shield charm." He raised his wand and cast a stinging hex in Ron's direction. Ron looked bewildered and felt a sudden pain in his left arm.

"Ouch," Ron grasped his left arm. "Why did you do that for? I wasn't ready"

"Why?" Snape hissed. "You dare ask questions about my teaching?"

Ron looked embarrassed.

"You don't have time to ask stupid questions if you are under attack, Mr. Weasley. The Dark Lord does not stop and give you time to find your wand. The Dark Lord does not give you time to think of what spells you are going to use. And the Dark Lord will certainly not use a simple stinging hex if you meet him. And neither will his Death Eaters."

"You did though," Ron muttered under his breath, and regretted it at once. Snape looked furious.

"Grab your wand, Mr. Weasley, and try again."

Ron took out his wand reluctantly. He was beginning to get scared of what Snape was going to do next. Snape walked away from him, then turned around and pointed his wand at Ron. He cast the spell again, and Ron yelled "Protego!"

But it was no use. Snape was too quick and too powerful, and Ron felt the familiar pain in his other arm. He dropped his wand and clutched his free hand on the painful arm.

"Pathetic," Snape said coldly. "You can't even manage the most basic spells."

Ron fought to hold back his tears. He was _not_ going to cry in front of Snape.

"You run around with your little friends, the three of you acting like heroes, but the truth is that _they_ are doing all the work. You just tag along, can't even defend yourself against a simple hex. You're nobody, Mr. Weasley!"

Ron felt the tears coming, and knew that Snape was right. He was nobody. He couldn't do anything right, and everybody knew it. Ron couldn't take it anymore.

"Screw this," he said and ran out of Snape's office.

Snape yelled after him. "I am not finished Mr. Weasley. Come back here at once!"

But Ron ignored him and ran out of the castle and into the rainy night.

Snape rolled his eyes and went after him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ron ran, tears running down his face. He heard rapid footsteps behind him, and turned around. Snape was hurrying towards him.

"He must be kidding," Ron thought, and increased his speed. He was faster than his teacher, and soon he had lost sight of him. He was soaked. The rain poured down, and his tears likewise.

The ground was slippery, and running became more difficult with every second, but Ron didn't care. He didn't know where he was going; all he knew was that he had to get away. Away from everybody, from Hogwarts, and especially, away from Snape.

Ron's eyes were so filled with tears he didn't see where he was going. He had lost one of his shoes, but still he kept running. He didn't notice that he was getting dangerously close to the Great Lake.

All of a sudden he slipped on something, hit his head, and felt the cold water embrace his body.

Severus Snape was enraged. This was _not_ the way he had intended to spend his evening. Chasing students in this terrible weather wasn't exactly his favourite activity. Especially not when he was the reason of the student's flight…

Snape was panting. Weasley was a lot faster than him. He was younger and didn't have as many layers of clothes. Snape stopped for a minute to catch his breath.

Why had the Weasley-boy fled like that? He knew that what he had said was a little harsh, but he only did it to make Weasley pull his act together. He was sick of his laziness, and knew he had it in him to do better. The boy was, after all, a Weasley. He didn't think a comment like that would get _that_ kind of consequences.

But where had he gone? Snape couldn't see him anywhere. He started running again, but being drenched and tired, and the ground getting even more slimy and muddy, he soon slowed down. He looked around, but didn't see Ron Weasley anywhere.

Suddenly he tripped on something. He looked down, and found a shoe. This had to be Weasley's. He had apparently been here. Snape picked it up, and continued down the hills towards the lake.

The heavy rain had lifted a bit, but Snape had still problems walking fast. He approached the lake, still looking for the young boy, but he was nowhere to be seen. Now Snape was getting worried. What if something had happened to him?

Then he saw a small stick lying on the ground on the edge of the lake. Weasley had dropped his wand. Now Snape was getting really worried. He bent down to pick it up and saw, to his horror, a rock with something red on it. He touched it, and noticed that it was, as he feared, blood.

He looked around in panic. Where was Weasley? He looked at the lake and a terrible feeling hit him. Severus Snape pointed his wand at the lake and called out: "Accio Ron Weasley!"

Ron soared out of the lake. Snape tried to catch him as the boy came flying through the air. Both fell backwards as Ron's body hit him, but he got up quickly.

Snape laid the body on the ground before him and noticed that he did not have a pulse, nor was he breathing. He cast a spell, and felt a bit more relieved as he made the boy's heart start beating and heard him breathe again. The boy, however, was still unconscious.

He lifted the boy and started to carry him towards the castle. The body was heavy, and the weight of it and the terrible weather was too much for him. He put Ron on the ground again and took out his wand.

"Mobilicorpus," he said, pointing his wand at Ron's unconscious body lifting him off the ground.

Ron's body was floating beside Snape, and he started to move them both up the hill towards the castle, thinking hard on what he should do when he got there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

They were approaching the castle, and Snape had still not yet decided what to do about the situation. He had to get Weasley some help as soon as possible, but what would he tell them? And what would people think if they saw them entering the castle like this?

But Severus Snape didn't really have a choice; he had to get the boy into the castle. He just hoped that no one would see them, that they had all gone to their common rooms.

He stopped outside the castle gate and lifted the Mobilicorpus charm off Ron. He carried the boy inside, and heard a shriek as he came through the door.

"Dead student! Dead student! Dead student!"

"Shut up, Peeves!" yelled Snape.

But Peeves yelled even louder, and started immediately to fly around the castle yelling the news to everybody. Before Snape even managed to get to the stairs, the hall was full of people, all staring at him and Ron.

Snape knew what they were thinking. There he stood in the middle of the hall, all muddy and soaked with Ron Weasley hanging lifeless from his arms.

"He's killed him!" he heard someone whisper behind him.

He froze. He didn't know what to do, and seemed to have lost the ability to speak. He just stared at the crowd around him.

"Severus?"

He saw Minerva McGonagall coming towards him. Then she saw Ron and screamed.

"Severus! Is he..?" She looked terrified.

Snape merely shook his head, but still couldn't speak.

"Let's get him up to the hospital wing at once. Everybody get out of the way." She shouted at the crowd, and Snape and McGonagall started climbing the stairs to the hospital wing, with Ron still dangling from Snape's arms.

Madam Pomfrey attended to Ron at once, checking his body thoroughly.

"The boy is ice-cold, and he's lost a lot of blood," she said. "This is serious; I'll need a lot of different solutions for this."

She got up and went out to get whatever she needed. Minerva McGonagall looked at Snape, who had sat down on the bed next to Ron's just staring at the poor, frozen, drenched and motionless redhead.

"What happened, Severus?" she asked him with a calm voice.

Snape didn't answer. He just sat there staring at Ron, his mind reliving every dreadful second of the last hours. McGonagall looked at him and then walked out of the infirmary to fetch Dumbledore.

How could this have happened? How could a tiny, unimportant detention end up like this? All he meant to do was teaching Ron a lesson and making him stand up for himself. He never imagined the boy would end up nearly dead because of it. He had seen people being killed several times before, but it had never afflicted him like this. But then again, it had never been _his_ fault before. Snape felt the guilt spread through his body.

Madam Pomfrey returned with the potions and a pile of extra blankets. She laid three of them over Ron's freezing body, and handed the last one to the professor.

She forced one of the potions down Ron's throat, and to Snape's great relief he saw that Ron gained a bit more colour to his white, frozen face.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked him.

"He fell in the lake," Snape answered.

"What in Merlin's name were you two doing at the lake at this hour, and in this weather?"

"I… we…. Eh…" Snape didn't know what to say, and his voice was starting to tremble. But then the door flew open and McGonagall and Dumbledore came rushing in.

"Poppy?" Dumbledore asked. "How is he? Is he going to make it?"

Madam Pomfrey tucked the blankets around Ron's body and turned to the headmaster.

"I believe so," she said, but they could all hear the worry in her voice. "But he's badly frozen and has gotten a nasty hit to his head, so I'm not sure when he's going to wake up, or if he is going to wake up."

Snape felt a jerk to his stomach. Had she really said _if_? Of course he would wake up, he _had_ to!

Madam Pomfrey left the room to let the professors talk.

"Are you okay, Severus?" Dumbledore looked him with a worried expression. "You look like you could do with a warming potion of some sort, and you look even more pale than your usual self."

"I'll be okay," he answered, but his voice weren't convincing anyone.

"What happened tonight, Severus? How did this happen? Why were you two out in the grounds?"

Snape swallowed a lump in his throat. "Detention," he muttered.

He knew that this was only partially true, but right now it was all he dared to tell his headmaster.

"Detention?" Dumbledore looked puzzled. "By the lake?"

"Yes," lied Snape. "Then he slipped and hit his head and fell in the lake." Snape looked at the floor, not daring to meet the headmaster's eyes. He would tell for sure that he was lying.

"It was a good thing you were there to get him out of the water then," McGonagall said. "He'd probably be dead if it weren't for you."

Snape didn't answer. He knew that Ron Weasley would never have fallen into the lake if it wasn't for him. McGonagall rose from her seat.

"I'll better alert his family, Potter and Granger about what has happened." She walked quickly out of the hospital.

Dumbledore kept looking at Snape, but Snape kept his eyes firmly on the floor.

"I get the feeling that there is something you're not telling me, Severus."

Snape still said nothing.

"You have never acted like this because of a student before, and especially not a boy like Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore continued.

Snape moved his eyes from the floor and to the student before him, but still not meeting his headmaster's eyes.

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "You know where to find me if you have anything else to tell me."

He got up and walked back to his office, leaving Severus Snape alone with the boy he had just rescued.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ten minutes later Madam Pomfrey walked into the room with Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Dean Thomas.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey fiercely, and the students looked suspiciously at their professor.

Snape snapped out of his thoughts, stood up and stared crossly back at the students.

"Now, Mister Potter, there's no need for that kind of hostility," Madam Pomfrey interrupted. "Professor Snape is actually the one who rescued Mister Weasley out of the lake."

"He what?" Harry looked unconvinced.

They all stood for a moment eying each other before finally Madam Pomfrey said: "You should get some sleep Professor Snape, you look exhausted."

Snape started walking towards the exit. On his way out of the door, Poppy Pomfrey whispered to him. "I'll take care of the boy. I promise. You should go and get some sleep."

Snape nodded slightly, glared at Potter and went out of the hospital wing.

While heading back to his chambers, Snape's mind went back to its normal self for a while. He was infuriated. Who did Potter and his friends think they were, strolling into the hospital as if nothing had happened and just being their typical arrogant selves? They cared more about his presence than their friend lying lifeless in the bed right next to them.

When he finally reached his room he noticed for the first time that he too was drenched and freezing. His entire body hurt from cold and exhaustion. He got undressed and took a really hot bath, before he put on his pyjamas, and got into bed.

He was a bit warmer now and physically felt a lot better. But he couldn't sleep. His mind was persistently on the detention and every tiny detail about it, on what he and Ron Weasley had said and done, on how the boy had run out of the castle, on himself chasing him, at first furious, later worried.

Why hadn't he been able to tell Dumbledore what really happened? He thought it would be best if he didn't know that it was his fault, but now Poppy and Minerva made it sound like he was some sort of hero for rescuing Weasley and that was certainly not the case.

He was no hero.

Severus Snape was thinking about the feeling in his stomach when he found the shoe, the jump in his heart when he found the wand and the stone with blood on it and on when he realized that Ron must be in the lake. The picture of the motionless body he summoned from the cold water and the journey back to the castle appeared in his mind over and over again.

He knew that he didn't make Weasley fall into the lake, but he still felt guilty. If he hadn't said and done the things he did, the boy would never have run out of the castle, and the accident would never have happened.

The scene must have been relived in his mind a thousand times before he noticed that morning had come. He looked at the time. It was still quite some time before breakfast, and he decided to go to the hospital wing again. No one would be up there this early in the morning.

Snape slid carefully through the doors, as if not to disturb anyone. But there were no other patients in the room, except from Ron, who lay just as he had the previous day. He sat down and watched the boy before him. He looked as he had done the last time Snape saw him; extremely pale and deathlike.

Poppy Pomfrey came into the room. "Oh, back already, professor?" She looked surprised.

"Yes," answered Snape. "How is he?" He asked her, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

"Oh, not much has changed since yesterday I'm afraid. His body temperature is back to normal, but other than that… nothing." Madam Pomfrey looked at the poor boy briefly before her eyes went back to Snape.

Snape noticed that Madam Pomfrey was looking at him, and got quickly to his feet.

"I have to go," he said, as if the last few moments had never taken place, and hurried out of the room.

He couldn't let anyone see him like that. What had happened to him? He was Severus Snape for Merlin's sake. He didn't care about students? It was one thing that he had behaved as he did yesterday, he was in shock then and they all knew it, but to continue his behaviour this way would not be appropriate. Nor did he want it to continue.

But as the day went on, he noticed that he did, in fact, care. In every vacant moment during his day, his thoughts went to Ron Weasley. The guilt kept eating him up inside. He had never really liked any Weasley much, but the boy surely didn't deserve _this_...

Later that evening, Snape decided that he had to see how the boy was doing. But he couldn't let anyone know. It was far past midnight when he left his room, and headed towards the hospital wing.

Poppy Pomfrey was bound to be in bed by now. He slid without a sound through the doors, and into the infirmary. Ron was still the only one there, and Snape sat down at the bed next to Ron's yet again.

Snape's mind was working overtime. He started to mutter to himself. There had to be a way for the boy to get better? He knew a lot of healing spells and certainly a lot of potions, but the fact that Madam Pomfrey too didn't have a solution in this case, made him feel bewildered and aggravated.

There _had_ to be a way. But he couldn't think of a single potion or spell that would wake an unconscious person up without screwing up that persons mind in the process. He was getting more and more frustrated.

Snape were now pacing back and forth, so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn't notice that Madam Pomfrey had woken up and stood in the doorway. She watched Snape for a minute, but then she just smiled to herself and went back to bed, leaving the professor alone with the patient.

The week went on. Snape went to the hospital wing late every night and early every morning to check on Ron. He was always extremely careful that no one saw him come or go, and he was sure that no one knew he had been there.

But the boy didn't seem to get any better. He lay in his bed as still as he had the day Snape brought him there. It had been six days now, and still no change. Snape was getting irritated with himself and Madam Pomfrey. How could neither of them know a way to wake unconscious people up safely?

In desperation he knelt down at Ron's side and whispered: "Why can't you just wake up, boy?"

He looked at the boy and saw two blue eyes staring back at him utterly confused.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Bloody hell!" Ron cried out as he stared into the dark and searching eyes. He was confused. He was obviously in the hospital wing, but how did he get there, and why the hell was Snape sitting by his side? He looked at his professor with a despised look.

"Why am I in here?" he asked him. "The last thing I remember is… going to detention…"

Snape didn't' dare to look at him, but got quickly to his feet.

"Detention with you!" Ron yelled.

"Hush," Snape whispered. "Keep your voice down."

"Why would I keep my voice down," Ron shouted. "You did this to me! You tried to hex me in detention, and when I didn't put up with it, you followed me and tried to kill me!"

"That is _not_ what happened!" Snape didn't even realize that he had raised his own voice.

"Oh yeah?" yelled Ron. "And you failed, so now you're back to finish me off!" He looked desperate around for his wand, but couldn't find it anywhere.

"Would you please calm down, Mr. Weasley? That is not what happened. If you could only shut up for a second and listen I will tell you what…"

"So you can tell me a made-up story, to cover up that you're out to get me?" Ron interrupted.

Snape sighed. The boy was clearly not going to listen.

"What is going on here?" Poppy Pomfrey stood in the doorway in her nightgown. "Who is making all this noise?" She lit her wand and looked in their direction. "Mr. Weasley," she smiled. "You are finally awake. Now that's a relief."

She went over to him and saw Snape as she got closer. "Oh, professor, I didn't see you there. Did you do this?" She asked him and nodded towards Ron. Snape shook his head, and was going to speak, but was brutally interrupted by Ron again.

"Oh, yes he did!" Ron cried out. "He was standing over me ready to kill me, but I woke up and stopped him."

Snape rolled his eyes, and headed towards the door. There was no point in staying. Without saying a word he walked out of the hospital and sought directions of his room, not caring if anyone spotted him or not.

At first Snape thought about what Ron Weasley had said. The same thought that had gone through his mind the past week came back once more. A part of him wanted to go back and explain what had happened, but another part of him couldn't do it. The boy had clearly made up his mind about what he wanted to believe, not caring about what anybody said.

This made Snape more and more frustrated. It was true that he was partly responsible for Ron Weasley being in the hospital wing, but coming to think of it, wasn't that a good thing? If it hadn't been for him, Weasley would never have made it to the hospital. Wasn't the hospital the best thing that could come out of this situation? Snape was starting to get livid.

"That ungrateful ignorant, little weasel!" Then a great pain shot through his left forearm. Oh no! Snape thought clutching his arm. Not now! He really didn't need this right now…

"Now Mr. Weasley would you please calm down?" Madam Pomfrey held Ron's shoulders trying to keep him still.

"I don't want to calm down! I'm telling you! Snape is trying to kill me!" Ron was yelling at the top of his lunges.

"Now I'm sure that isn't the case, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey replied calmly. "It was professor Snape that saved your life. You should be thankful for it, not accusing him for such an awful thing. You have been in a coma for six day, and you mind is obviously playing tricks on you."

"That's just what he's telling you. What he wants you to believe!" Ron was getting frustrated. Why didn't anyone listen to him?

"Now listen to me, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey was talking firmly to him now. "You hit your head pretty severely when you fell in the lake, and professor Snape rescued you and brought you in here. Believe me! He is _not_ trying to kill you!

But Ron still wasn't convinced. He remembered the pain that Snape had given him during detention, and remembered Snape's furious voice calling after him as he ran out of the castle. He wasn't finished, Snape had yelled after him….

"Mr. Weasley, if professor Snape wanted to kill you, he would have had plenty of opportunities by now," Madam Pomfrey laughed. "He has been in here to see you several times a day the time you have been here."

"What?" Ron looked puzzled. Snape had been visiting him? That couldn't be right. Snape would never do such a thing!

"It is true," Madam Pomfrey said. "I've seen him in here plenty of times, so I can assure you, he is not out to get you. He has, in fact, been working really hard to find some way to wake you up. Now will you calm down? This anger is not good for you. You need to stay calm, or that head injury is never going to heal." She pinned Ron down to his bed, and gave him a potion to ease the pain and calm him down.

Ron was concentrating really hard to remember what had happened that horrible night. He was looking for anything to explain this weird situation. He remembered going down to the dungeons, and that Snape threw curses at him. He felt the pain in his arms as he thought about it. Snape never gave him the chance to prepare himself for what was coming. He remembered that they yelled at each other. He didn't recall exactly what was said, but one word appeared in his mind: _nobody_. Snape had called him nobody…

Ron's eyes suddenly filled with tears. That was it. That's why he had run out. But why did Snape follow him? He wasn't finished? What more could he possible do to him? Hadn't Ron been through enough?

He remembered running faster to get away from him, but that it was hard because of the heavy rain. He had turned around to look if he still was being followed, but the next thing he knew he was staring into Snape's vicious eyes in the hospital bed.

What had happened in between? He couldn't remember a thing. And had Snape really been there to see him? Why? To find a way to wake him up? Surely that couldn't be true. On the other hand, Snape was there when he woke up, so he had to have been there at least that one time… but every day? Why?

It had to be so that Snape could gloat about saving his life, Ron decided. He probably wanted to be there when Ron woke up to harass him even more.

He could hear Snape's voice in his head: "Weasley, it was about time you woke up, sleeping for six days you lazy, arrogant git. I told you I wasn't finished with you. You really thought falling into the lake would get you out of detention? Well you thought wrong. Detention is over when I say it's over, and since I also had to save you life during it, you can consider yourself busy every night for the rest of the school year."

Ron shuddered. Detention with Snape every night for the rest of the year would surely kill him… But as the thought of what Snape would be doing to him in these detentions crossed his mind, Madam Pomfrey's potion kicked in, and he felt his eyelids getting heavy and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Ron had no idea how long he had been asleep when he suddenly heard people talking. He opened his eyes and saw Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore standing bent over a person in the bed next to Ron's.

He couldn't see who it was, but he could hear Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore whispering.

"I don't think I've ever seen him in such bad shape before," Madam Pomfrey whispered to the headmaster. "What have they been doing to him?"

"I don't know," said Dumbledore. "It's more than just the Cruciatus curse this time. He must be really angry to do this to one of his own. Thank Merlin he made it back here in time."

Ron sharpened his ears as best as he could, but he couldn't make out more of what they were saying.

"Well the best thing right now would be to let him rest and let the potions do their job," said Dumbledore.

Madam Pomfrey nodded in agreement. They shut the curtains around the bed, and walked silently out of the room.

Ron was getting curious. Who was that person in the next bed? And what had happened to him? Something worse than the Cruciatus curse? Ron shrugged just by thinking of it.

He wanted to get up from his bed and peer through the curtains, but he felt dizzy just sitting up, and didn't dare to leave the bed in this state. He would probably find out tomorrow anyway. He closed his eyes and fell back to sleep at once.

Morning came, and Ron was brutally awakened by Madam Pomfrey opening the curtains and letting the sun in right in Ron's face.

"Well, good morning, Mr. Weasley," she smiled at him. "How are we feeling this morning?"

Ron grunted and looked over at the bed next to him. The curtains were still covering the mysterious person. Madam Pomfrey peered through the hangings.

"Good, he is still asleep, Merlin knows he needs it." She looked at Ron again. "Hungry?"

Ron nodded. He was starving! She smiled at him, and went to get him some breakfast.

Minutes later she came back with a tray of pancakes and toast. Ron dug in at once. He stuffed his face with food as professor Dumbledore walked in.

"How are our two patients doing this morning, Poppy?" He looked at Ron and smiled. "Well, Mr. Weasley seems to be getting better. He has certainly not lost his appetite."

Madam Pomfrey laughed. Ron flushed and stopped chewing at once.

"And the other one?" asked Dumbledore.

Madam Pomfrey's expression became more serious and her voice dropped to a whisper.

"He is still asleep; I guess we won't know for a couple of hours."

"Let me know when he wakes up, will you?"

"Of course."

"Well, it's nice to know that you are getting better Mr. Weasley. We have been worried about you." The headmaster smiled at Ron.

Ron swallowed the last bit of pancake and cleared his throat. He wanted to ask his headmaster something he had been thinking about a lot the last hours.

"Professor? Is it true that Sna… I mean professor Snape saved me?" Ron looked puzzled.

"Well yes, I believe that is correct, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore answered. He drew up a chair and sat down at Ron's side.

"Do you know what happened?" Ron asked his headmaster.

"I don't know all the details, but what I know is that you and professor Snape were having a detention by the lake, and that you slipped and hit your head pretty badly, and then fell in the water. Professor Snape got you out of the water and brought you up here. I don't know anymore of the details I'm sorry."

Ron nodded.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Weasley?" The old man looked at him.

Ron shook his head. "Just say thanks from me will you?" Ron muttered.

"Well I think you should do that yourself, Mr. Weasley, don't you agree?" Dumbledore winked at him and left the room.

Ron thought about what the old headmaster had said. Thank Snape himself? Ron really didn't want to do that. He was still mad at him for throwing curses and for following him. But he _had_ saved his life… Ron really didn't know what to believe.

Then suddenly Ron flinched. Had Dumbledore said detention by the lake? That couldn't be right. The detention wasn't by the lake. Whatever gave professor Dumbledore that impression?

Suddenly he heard a moan in the other bed. The person seemed to be in a lot of pain, but Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen. He called out for her, and she came running at once.

"What's the matter Mr. Weasley," she asked.

Ron pointed at the curtains, and Madam Pomfrey went over to the patient and disappeared through the hangings.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The sun was shining and it was a really beautiful day. Ron wished he could be outside with the rest of the students. He was getting bored. There was nothing to do in the hospital wing, and no one to talk to.

He looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost lunchtime now and he wanted to be in the Great Hall with everybody else, but of course he was stuck in bed, all alone as usual. Why hadn't anyone visited him yet? Didn't they know that he was awake?

"Of course they know", he told himself. Harry and Hermione would probably show up pretty soon when lunch started.

But lunchtime came, and still no one came. Now Ron was getting wound up.

Why didn't anyone come to see him?

If this had happened just two months ago, the hospital wing would be packed with his friends. All of them wondering how he was doing, and keeping him company every chance they got.

But this time the person that was by his side when he woke up was Snape… And his friends hadn't even bothered to show up yet, even though he was sure they've had plenty of chances. Ron started yet again to feel sorry for himself, and remembered why Snape's comment had stung so deep the other night. He really felt like nobody.

The day passed on, and Ron couldn't remember ever being this bored. It was already seven thirty, and no one had visited him yet. There were some magazines lying by his bed, but he had flipped through them hours ago, and wasn't exactly that into Witch Weakly anyway…

What was he supposed to do with all this time? He wanted to walk around, but didn't have the strength yet. He even felt like doing homework just to keep occupied, but he didn't have any of his books or any of his things, he didn't even know where his wand was. Ron sighed loudly.

Finally at eight o'clock, after Ron had finished counting everything he could find in the room, four people walked into the room.

"It was about bloody time," Ron snorted at his visitors.

"Now _that's_ a way to make people feel welcome," Ginny snorted back to her brother.

"What took you so long? I've been in here for a week you know." Ron wanted them to know how much he was hurting.

"We know, and we're sorry," said Hermione. "We've been here to see you before, you know, but you were unconscious, so…

"So you didn't think I'd like visitors then?" Ron interrupted.

Hermione fell quiet and turned to Dean, burying her face in his chest.

"Things have been really hectic lately, Ron." Harry finally spoke. "I had to find a replacement for you as keeper, and it has NOT been easy."

"So Quidditch and being captain is more important than your best friend, is that it?"

"That's not what I said, Ron"

"You didn't need to…" Ron mumbled.

Harry and Ron both fell silent, and didn't look at each other. Ginny took Harry's hand, carefully stroking it to comfort him. The silence was unbearable. Then Ginny finally said:

"Fine, Ron! We came up here to see how you were doing, because we were worried about you. But now I can clearly see that you're the same self-centred, self-pitying git you've always been. He's back to normal guys. Nothing to worry about here… let's go!"

She let go of Harry's hand and turned to walk out of the room. Harry followed her immediately, not even looking at Ron as he left.

Hermione and Dean were still standing by Ron's bed, quite uncomfortable.

"Aren't you two going after them?" Ron asked angrily. "There's no point in staying for stupid Ron's sake."

Hermione pulled out a bag and laid it on Ron's bed.

"Here," she said quietly. "I just thought you were bored, so I brought you some of your things."

Then she turned back to Dean, and together they followed Harry and Ginny out of the hospital wing.

"Now, that must have been the most dim-witted thing I have ever witnessed."

Ron startled as the snarky voice spoke.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Professor Snape?" Ron asked carefully.

What the hell? Snape? Now this is just perfect, Ron thought as he stared over at the bed. He still couldn't see the person behind the curtains, but there was no mistake in whose voice had just spoken

"So it would seem," the snarky voice answered back.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Ron asked stupidly.

"That is _my_ business and mine alone" the professor hissed back.

Ron grunted and turned his attention back to the bag Hermione had left on his bed. He looked inside to see what was in it. He was not surprised. Of course Hermione would bring him a bag full of schoolbooks, quills and parchments. She wouldn't want him to miss out on his schoolwork just because he was lying in the hospital, would she. He sighed loudly and put the bag on the floor.

He stared at the ceiling once more and sighed loudly again. He was bored and angry at his friends for leaving him there all alone.

A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey came back to check on her two patients. She peered through the hangings around Snape's bed, and saw that the professor was awake.

"Are you hungry, professor?"

"No," Ron heard Snape mutter.

"Nonsense," Madam Pomfrey argued. "I will get you something anyway, and I'll tell the headmaster that you both seem fine."

She pulled her head out, and started pulling the hangings away from the bed.

"Leave them," Snape protested, but Madam Pomfrey pretended not to hear him.

"There you go," she smiled. "A little more space will do you good, and now the two of you can keep each other company." She smiled at them, and went to get some food for the both of them.

Snape and Ron looked at each other briefly before, simultaneously; they both snorted and looked away. Snape turned his back to Ron while Ron continued to look at the ceiling.

Snape was fuming. This had in no doubt been the worst week of his life, and this didn't make it any better… After a week of hanging in the hospital wing, feeling a mix of worry and guilt, he had been summoned to the worst Death Eater-meeting in years. And when he finally came around after being tortured into some sort of unconsciousness, he was stuck in the hospital wing with the way too cheery Poppy Pomfrey and none other than the weasel that was responsible for this entire week.

He really just wanted to go back to his dungeon, but he could barely move.

"Guess I'm stuck here," he thought miserably as he heard Madam Pomfrey return with the food.

She gave one tray to Ron and placed the other next to Snape's bed, who refused to touch it.

Ron finished his meal quickly, and rested on his bed again. Neither patient moved for several minutes, but after a while Ron couldn't take it anymore. He was so bored he was sure he was going to lose it.

He started tapping his fingers on the covers on his bed. It didn't make much sound, but it was enough to make the professor turn red.

"Would you stop that?" he burst out after a while.

Ron seized his actions immediately, and stared at the ceiling again.

After a while he heard the professor sigh loudly, and realized he had been humming "Weasley is our king" to himself. He stopped that too.

Several minutes passed, none of them moved or spoke. Then out of nowhere, Snape said irritated:

"Must you do that?" He lay in his bed staring angrily at Ron.

"What?" Ron stared back. "I didn't do anything. What can I possibly have done to annoy you this time?"

"You breathe too loudly," Snape snorted.

"Breathe too loudly? Am I not allowed to breathe either? Would you like me to stop breathing, is that it? I bet you would like that, wouldn't you." Ron was livid.

Snape didn't answer. That was not what he had meant at all, but he knew Weasley didn't see it the same way, considering their last conversation.

Ron started breathing even louder, just to annoy the other man, and he could see that the professor was struggling to keep himself from commenting on the matter. Ron sighed loudly, and started drumming on his covers. Finally Snape couldn't take it anymore.

"Mr. Weasley, stop that at once! You're driving me crazy!"

"I'm just so bored," Ron finally admitted.

"Obviously," Snape rolled his eyes. "Not so chirpy without your little friends around, are you?"

"I don't exactly see many people around your bed either." Ron replied quickly.

"Unlike you, Mr. Weasley, I prefer solitude, peace and quiet."

"Well, I don't!" Ron stated firmly.

"Maybe if you haven't been so clever to insult all your friends while they were here, you wouldn't be in this position."

"What do you mean?" Ron looked back at his professor. "It was their fault. They didn't care enough to come visit me for several hours. They're just too busy doing whatever they're doing these days."

Snape rolled his eyes at him.

"What?" asked Ron.

Snape sighed. "Has it ever occurred to you that they might have been in here every day while you were unconscious?"

"What do you know about that?" Ron interrupted, but suddenly fell silent remembering what Madam Pomfrey had told him about his visitor.

Ron didn't speak, sigh, drum, hum or even breathe loudly for half an hour, but eventually he got so restless that he had to do something? He decided to do some homework, and picked up the bag.

He started emptying the contents of the bag onto his bed. After pulling out one schoolbook after another Ron suddenly stumbled upon a box.

What's this? It doesn't look like schoolwork, Ron thought as he grabbed the box and took it out of the bag. It was a Wizard Chess-set. A brand new one in fact. He opened it, and inside he found a chocolate frog and note.

_Dear Ron,_

_Just a little something I picked up in Hogsmeade. Hopefully it will cheer you up._

_Get well soon _

_Love _

_Hermione_

Ron felt the guilt build up inside him. He felt bad about the way he had drove Hermione and Dean out of the room earlier. He was just so angry and disappointed he couldn't help himself. But it was too late now. His friends were gone, and he had no one to talk to, and no one to play with.

Ron put away the box, and took out his History of Magic-homework. He found several pieces of parchment inside his books where Hermione had scribbled down what they were supposed to do. She had even included her own notes from the classes he had missed. Ron felt even worse about the way he had treated Hermione.

He picked up a new piece of parchment, some ink and a quill and was going to start on his history-essay. But his mind went blank. History was so boring, and he would probably fall asleep while writing it. He put the book back in the bag, and took out another schoolbook. But he realized he really wasn't in the mood for homework right now. He threw all his school things back in the bag, and stared at the ceiling again.

He glanced at the box on his nightstand, and really wished that his friends would come back to see him. He grabbed the box and started looking at the pieces. It was a really nice set. His old one was so old and worn-out that several of the pieces were missing heads or other parts after several years of decapitating each other. He sighed, but broke it of at once, not wanting to annoy his neighbour.

He looked over at the bed occupied by his snarky teacher. He hadn't moved since they last spoke, and Ron was wondering if he was sleeping. It was getting late, but Ron wasn't tired, he did, however, need to find a toilet. He stood up from his bed for the first time, a bit unsteady, but he didn't fall. He took some careful steps, not letting go of his bed, and somehow managed his way to the bathroom.

On his way back he noticed that his professor was now lying on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Well, he's awake too then," Ron thought as he stumbled his way back to bed.

Madam Pomfrey came in minutes later, and started closing the curtains on the windows.

"Anything I can get any of you," she asked kindly. Both of them shook their heads.

"Well, goodnight then," she said and left the room while turning of the lights. Ron and Snape were left in the dark. Neither able to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Snape felt his stomach growl from hunger, but he didn't want to touch the tray of food that was still on the nightstand. The room was dark, and he didn't want to wake up Weasley. He couldn't stand the boy staring at him while eating. Snape closed his eyes, and tried desperately to fall asleep, but he was unsuccessful.

Ron lay in his bed, eyes wide open too. He wanted to sleep, but didn't feel tired at all. He just lay there, staring into nothingness.

Hours passed, and there was not a sound coming from the room. Both were in bed, staring blankly into the dark air, both wide awake. It had started raining outside, and they could hear a storm approaching.

Suddenly a ray of light flashed, and both saw straight into the other's eyes. Ron flinched, and broke off the stare.

"Er…" he cleared his throat. "I didn't know you were awake." He started looking everywhere else, as if he had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Well, I am," Snape mumbled, "And as were you, or so it would seem."

Ron hesitated. "Well, yeah. Apparently…"

Ron was thirsty and really needed to go to the bathroom again. But it was dark, and he couldn't reach any of the lights. Neither did he have his wand, which could really come in handy right now. He hesitated before finally asking his teacher.

"I'm sorry, professor Snape, but can you reach any of the lights?"

"Why?" Snape wondered.

"Er… I don't have my wand, and I can't reach the lights, and I really have to… you know…"

Snape reached out his hand and lit one of the laps next to his bed.

"Thanks," Ron said humbly, and rose from his bed. Carefully he made his way to the bathroom.

Snape took advantage of the fact that the lights were on, and that Weasley was temporarily out of the room. He grabbed a slice of bread from the tray next to him took a bite. It was dry and not very tasty as it had lay there for hours, but still, it was food and he was famished.

He was in the middle of chewing on his second piece as he heard Ron re-entering the room. He stopped chewing immediately and threw the rest of the bread back on the tray.

Ron stopped by a small table with a pitcher of water and some glasses; he poured himself a glass and drank it at once. He refilled it and looked at his professor, who looked like he had frozen.

"Do you want some?" he asked the man, who nodded as a reply.

Ron poured another glass, and walked extremely carefully back to the two beds, concentrating really hard not to fall or spill anything.

He handed the glass to his professor who took it without speaking. Ron put down his own glass, and fell back on his bed.

Again, the two patients were back to staring into the air.

Then Ron decided to go for it.

"Professor?" he asked carefully.

"What?" Snape grunted back. "Do you want to play some chess, maybe?"

Ron expected a tirade of insults being thrown back at him, but it never came.

"I mean, I got this set of wizard chess here, and since neither of us seems to be able to sleep I was just thinking that…"

"Will it stop you from talking?" Snape asked.

Ron didn't quite hear him, but noticed that he had said something.

"Sorry?"

"I _said_, will it stop you from talking?" Snape hissed back.

"Sure," Ron replied without thinking.

"Fine," Snape said.

Ron was shocked. Had he actually agreed?

"But you have to come over here. I'm not moving an inch."

Ron grabbed the chair that Dumbledore had placed next to his bed, and shoved it across the floor. Snape moaned loudly, and Ron realized that he was making a racket.

"Sorry," he apologized and went back to get the chess set. He set it up on Snape's bed, and Snape moved the first piece.

They played for a while. Both men impressed with the other's skills. Neither had played against an equally good opponent in a very long time, but neither spoke a word during the game. Not until Ron claimed his victory by "Check-mate".

Snape was staring at the board analyzing where he had gone wrong, and demanded a rematch at once. Ron's lips formed a tiny smile as he set up the board for a new game.

"Chocolate frog?" Ron offered Snape half of the frog Hermione had given him. Snape took the piece of chocolate, and merely nodded as to say thanks.

After several hours, the score was 7-6 to Ron, and Severus Snape was focusing hard not to lose. Neither of them noticed that the daylight was now peering through the windows.

Madam Pomfrey walked through the door around 7 o'clock and found her two patients deep involved in the game.

"Oh, are you up already?" she asked them.

The two wizards looked at each other and just nodded to Madam Pomfrey, then focusing at the game again.

"Well I'll be getting breakfast then. I'll be back before you know it." She smiled widely as she walked out of the room.

Ron and Snape continued playing their game, ignoring the healer completely.

Madam Pomfrey came back into the infirmary pushing a trolley. On the trolley were two trays with food, pumpkin juice and tea, and an old muggle gramophone.

"Well boys, I got this Phomagram, or something, from professor Dumbledore. He thought it would make your day a bit brighter and cheerful."

"Now that is just great," Snape muttered sarcastically.

Madam Pomfrey luckily didn't hear it as she sat the gramophone on one of the tables. She gave the two men their trays, and they decided to put the game on pause for a while to eat while the toast and tea were still hot.

They sat in different beds, eating and drinking without speaking or looking at each other, while Madam Pomfrey was wandering around the room, pulling the curtains and fluffing the pillows on the unused beds. She went over to the gramophone and tried to put on one of the records that Dumbledore had given her.

"Now, wouldn't a bit of music do you good?" she smiled at her two patients and looked back at the gramophone. "Just give me a minute."

She obviously didn't know what she was doing, because after a while, both Ron and Snape sat in their beds, covering their ears from all the scratching and noise that were coming from both the gramophone and Madam Pomfrey.

Ron glanced carefully at his professor and could swear that he saw a tiny smile appear on his face between all the raising of the eyebrows and rolling of eyes. Something the former potions master of course would refuse to ever have done.

After a while Madam Pomfrey had finally managed to get some sort of music come out of the speaker.

"Now this is a man called…" She looked down at the spinning record and tried to read the name. "Dean Martin." She finally concluded before she moved against the door again, and stepped out of the room.

Snape felt dozy after staying up all night and now also full of toast and tea, but there was no way that he would forfeit the game they were playing. He was so sure that this time the victory was his, so he looked at Ron and asked.

"Shall we continue?"

Ron swallowed down his last bit of food, drank the last sip of his juice and nodded.

Ron was once again sitting on the chair next to Snape's bed, both focusing hard on the game. The music in the background wasn't that bad, they thought, but none of them said anything about it.

The game was intense, but finally Ron got a big grin on his face.

"Check-mate," he said, and his Bishop stabbed Snape's King.

Snape moaned. He couldn't believe he had lost. He was so sure this time. He kept looking at the board, almost hoping to see some way that Ron had made a mistake, but he couldn't find one.

Then a new song started playing, and both wizards froze immediately when Dean Martin started singing.

_You're nobody 'till somebody loves you. _

_You're nobody 'till somebody cares. _

_You may be king, you may possess the world and its gold, _

_but gold won't bring you happiness when you're growing old. _

They looked at each other, both knowing exactly what made the other freeze. Both were reminded of that dreadful evening that started this whole mess.

After something that seemed like hours, Snape whispered so quietly that it was almost impossible to hear, not meeting the boy's eyes:

"You're _not_ nobody, Mr. Weasley. You are somebody."

Ron swallowed a lump in his throat and replied carefully.

"You are somebody, too Professor."

Both knew that this was the closest thing to an apology they would ever get from one another, but both were okay with that.


End file.
